Northern Marine's Newest Long Range Cruiser

Engine Room Safety • Shared Trawler Ownership 

NORTHERN 

EXPOSURE: 

Northern Marine’s 

NEWEST 

LONG-RANGE 

CRUISER 

COASTAL 

C R A F T: A Turnkey Cruiser 

CRUISE YOUR OWN BACKYARD 

Martin Bydalek Photo©

Photo courtesy of Northern Marine

Story By JOHN WOOLDRIDGE 

EXPO 

NORTHERN MARINE’S NEWEST LONG-RANGE CRUISER 

Walking down the dock at Cap Sante Marina in Anacortes, Washington, it was hard to miss 

the Northern Marine 64 Long Range Cruiser tied at the T-head end. Her massive raised 

pilothouse and purposefully high, flared forward sections towered over many of the yachts 

moored nearby, and her lines resembled some of the large fishing boats at an adjacent dock, 

commercial vessels meant to operate continuously and safely in the cold, rough waters of the 

Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea.

Northern Marine 64 

Taking full advantage of the18-foot-6-inch beam, Northern Marine’s design team gave the 64 LRC a spacious, teak-planked swim 

platform to optimize water sports and boarding. The aft deck is well protected by the boat deck overhang for all-weather enjoyment. 

As I got closer it became obvious that, while the 64 

Raised Pilot House LRC shared a commercial heritage 

and some design features with the surrounding boats, 

she was a luxury yacht with a finish that would please 

the most discriminating owner. Her flawless paint 

and gleaming stainless steel immediately leapt to my 

attention, and the oiled-teak caprails that topped her 

bulwarks were perfectly finished. The tall center mast 

on her flybridge sported leading-edge marine radar and 

antennas, while her extended boat deck was equipped 

with a high-capacity crane. 

Blair Estenson, Northern Marine’s sales and 

warranty manager, met me on the dock and gave me 

some quick background on the history of the company 

and the 64 LRC. The boat we were about to cast 

off for an overnight in the San Juan Islands and a 

subsequent sea trial in Puget Sound was built on the 

same hull design used to produce Bruce and Joan 

Kessler’s Spirit of Zopilote, a design that evolved into 

Northern Marine’s 57- and 80-foot long-range cruisers. 

The hull form has proved capable of cruising in the 

deep waters of the Atlantic and Pacific, and it’s equally 

up to the task of gunkholing the rugged Pacific 

Northwest coast or skimming the shoal-infested waters 

of the Florida Keys and the Bahamas. It is well set 

up for comfort aboard and for ease of operation by 

an experienced couple. But beyond the basic design 

parameters and the reliable systems, the new 64 LRC 

represents a greatly improved design over the original. 

The yacht can be boarded on either side through 

sturdy bulwark gates aft of amidship—a good feature for 

those who go where fixed-height docks are the rule—or 

by way of the molded, teak-decked swim platform and a 

short flight of molded stairs that leads through a massive 

transom door on the starboard side. Where tidal ranges 

are large and floating docks are commonly used to 

offer convenience to owners and guests, this is a muchappreciated 

feature. Before you walk up, you can’t help 

Reprinted with permission. Copyright 2008 © Dominion Enterprises (888.487.2953) www.passagemaker.com 

Photos courtesy of Northern Marine

Above: On each side of the boat, well-protected side decks 

lead forward to molded stairs that provide access to the 

foredeck, pilothouse doors, boat deck, and flybridge. Right: 

Massive oiled-teak caprails add a touch of rugged beauty to 

high bulwarks. The portside locker can be an outdoor galley. 

but notice the waterproof Freeman door on the 

centerline with a flush, circular-handled locking and 

dogging mechanism, particularly if it’s open and 

cantilevered to port on its heavy-duty pantograph hinge 

mechanism, giving excellent access to the lazarette. 

AN EXTERIOR WALKABOUT 

The aft deck is clad in natural teak, and there’s a 

built-in aft bench lounge, a large service locker on the 

port side forward that’s plumbed for a sink and equipped 

with excellent storage, and a small locker to starboard 

forward that serves as the console for the aft steering 

station. The boat deck overhang makes this an ideal area 

for relaxing or entertaining, even when the skies open up. 

Wide side decks with high, sturdy bulwarks lead forward 

along both sides and are equipped with large freeing 


ports for rapid overboard drainage of spray or rain. 

Oversized custom hawse cleats located at the aft corners 

and amidships make line handling and adjusting easy, 

with a secure and safe feeling behind the bulwarks. 

Molded stairways with excellent handrails lead up on 

both sides to the boat deck level, then forward and down 

to the foredeck. The stairs are a vast improvement over 

stainless frame ladders with treads and offer excellent 

security underfoot. Bulwarks forward are half the height 

of those below, but high, 1-1/4-inch 316 stainless steel 

rails that are meticulously welded in house by Northern 

Marine craftsmen augment safety for those working lines 

or the anchor. Two freeing ports and four more hawse 

cleats are found along the sides as you move forward. 

There are two voluminous storage lockers in the 

forward extension of the deckhouse, with hatches that 

open gull-wing style and stay open with the help of 

gas struts, allowing easy access to docklines and four 

large fenders on each side. On the forward side of the 

deckhouse, you’ll find a small spotlight to illuminate 

the foredeck, as well as a flush hatch that hides fresh 

and saltwater fittings and another hatch that conceals 

shorepower, CATV, and phone inlets. A Freeman 

hatch with an adult-size opening fits flush on the port 

side of the foredeck to provide chain locker access. 

Our test boat was equipped with a single Muir 

hydraulic Atlantic 3500 windlass to handle 300 feet of 

3/8-inch BBB high-strength galvanized chain and a 

150-lb. Manson anchor. The ground tackle deploys 

over a custom stainless steel roller system that is 

nothing short of massive and extends forward over the 

angled stem, well forward of the bulbous bow beneath 

the waterline. A stainless steel breastplate is provided 

to protect the bow from potential anchor damage. 

Reprinted with permission. Copyright 2008 © Dominion Enterprises (888.487.2953) www.passagemaker.com


Above: Outstanding visibility and a thoughtfully designed instrument console make this helm a desirable operations center. Three 

large screens dominate the centerline for at-a-glance updates; controls also are located on the centerline, within easy reach of the 

Stidd seat. Opposite page: Aft of the helm to starboard is a raised settee for guests who wish to enjoy the wonderful views from 

the pilothouse, as well as a comfortable pilot berth for the off watch—or perhaps the occasional sleepy grandchild. 

The boat deck is completely surrounded by hip-high 

316 stainless steel rails, with a secondary rail to help 

prevent people or equipment from slipping overboard. 

The most prominent feature is a Steelhead 2500 

hydraulic crane mounted on the centerline, with space 

to port for a small dinghy (or a crowd of kayaks) and 

room to starboard for a large dinghy that can be 

offloaded to either side with equal ease. Forward on 

the starboard side of the antenna mast base is a locker 

that can be configured as an outdoor kitchen. To port 

of the mast, a set of molded stairs leads up to the 

flybridge, which features a spacious helm console, a 

large L-shaped bench lounge with table, and room 

for one or more helm seats that command stunning 

views all around. 

COMFORT AND CONTROL 

Two sliding, watertight Freeman doors with locks and 

dogs permit access to the pilothouse from either side 

deck. I hesitated stepping over the raised threshold, not 

wanting to track water dumped by a passing rain shower 

onto the cabin’s beautiful sole, but Estenson assured 

me that it was well sealed against water damage. 

Throughout the boat, the sole is jatobá, a Brazilian 

cherry hardwood that’s glued and screwed to the sole 

substrate, then pegged, sanded, and finished with 

durable epoxy. 

In this 64 LRC, a single Stidd helm chair sat on 

the centerline, but there is enough space for an owner 

to choose a bench-style helm seat for two, or three 

individual helm seats. Whichever seating option you 


Photos courtesy of Northern Marine 

select, the view forward through five 1/2-inch-thick 

tempered-glass pilothouse windows is improved by a 

three-wiper windshield system with freshwater rinsing 

and a selection of speeds (intermittent, low, medium, 

and high) controlled by individual switches. All of the 

windshield mullions are finished in makore (African 

cherry). There is no tint in the panes looking forward, 

while the side windows in the back half of the pilothouse 

have a slight tint. Because the window line extends so far 

aft along both sides, the sight lines are amazingly good 

from the helm. 

Standard equipment on the 64 LRC includes a full 

suite of electronics from Furuno, Simrad, and Hatland. All 

components connect to an NMEA 2000 bus that can 

share data easily from all over the network. Two cameras, 

one on the mast looking aft and one on the starboard 

side of the engine room, are controlled by an Elbex 

switcher panel to port of the wheel and can rotate 360 

degrees and tilt and zoom in and out to produce selected 

views on the Hatland displays. To port, there’s a Furuno 

FCV1100L low- and high-frequency sounder for detailed 

information about depth and bottom configuration, with 

a Furuno GP37 GPS control panel below. 

The port and center 19-inch, flat-screen Hatland 

displays had picture-in-picture (PIP) capabilities and 

were dedicated to the custom-configured PC running 

Nobeltec Admiral electronic charting software. The 

starboard monitor displayed the Furuno 12kW Black 

Box 72-mile radar, providing a clean, unencumbered 

view of targets, land masses, and nav aids that are easy 


to pinpoint in the radar mode and can easily be overlaid 

on the center-display chart. Simrad IS-15 gauges to 

starboard provided backup readings for depth, speed 

over ground, course over ground, heading, wind speed 

and direction, or any of a dozen other desirable readouts 

from the network. The NMEA 2000 bus allowed the 

viewing of data from multiple transducers, engine 

sensors, and GPS receivers on a small Maretron display, 

cycling through owner-selected windows configured as 

full, half, or quarter panels. 

On the flat panel just below the Hatlands are two 

genset start-stop controls, ahead of a built-in Furuno 

radar control panel. Nearby are switches for the 12square-foot 

TRAC fin stabilizers and control levers for 

the ABT bow and stern thruster, either of which can be 

operated from genset or main gear hydraulic pumps, 

selectable with buttons just to starboard of the thruster 

controls. Two main engine touch pads and shift/throttle, 

both from Volvo Penta, are found in the pilothouse, on 

the flybridge, and at the aft control station. A Simrad jog 

lever is positioned sensibly on the centerline above the 

vertically mounted, 30-inch stainless steel destroyer 

wheel. Two helm pumps, one on the flybridge and one 

in the pilothouse, are standard to provide backup 

steering. An Icom IC-M604 VHF, with a second station 

on the flybridge, is close to the wheel for ease of use. 

The Simrad AP25 autopilot to port, as well as the unit 

on the flybridge, interfaces with the Nobeltec Admiral 

navigation software for accurate course keeping. 

The electrical panel in the pilothouse has AC and 


Above: Carefully matched, clear-grain makore 

adds warmth to the homelike comforts and custom 

furnishings of the saloon and dining area, conceived 

by Scott Cole of Ardeo Design. The unobtrusive sea 

rail overhead is a welcome feature. Left: Twin custom 

nightstands flank a comfortable queen-size bed in 

the spacious master stateroom amidships. 

DC systems properly separated, with live 

120/240VAC system switches lighted green 

and live 24VDC switches lighted yellow for 

quick visual reference. In case of a catastrophic 

electrical system failure, power for the 

navigation electronics is backed up with a 

separate battery and charger in the pilothouse. 

LUXURIOUS DETAILS 

Four people can relax comfortably on 

the raised settee to starboard, fronted by a 

beautifully made wood table with a sea rail. A 


pilot berth for the off watch, located behind the settee, 

has a wall-mounted reading light and curtains. To port 

aft is a chart table with a fold-down working surface, 

shelf storage, and a chart light. A good deal of locker 

and drawer storage flanks the helm, and there are flat 

countertops with sea rails. 

Two air handlers provide climate control in the 

pilothouse. All of the living areas have individual 

thermostats that, when set on auto, will heat individual 

compartments with electric resistive heat strips in lieu 

of reverse-cycle heat, as well as cool them with air 

conditioning. Ducting is set up high behind beautifully 

made grates in all cabins. 

Six steps down from the pilothouse, expansive granite 

countertops and makore cabinets grace a spacious, fullbeam, 

U-shaped galley open to starboard. Three large 

windows add spectacular views and pleasant natural light 

for the chef, who will appreciate the under-mount 

stainless steel Franke sink, a deep, side-by-side model 

that makes a lot of sense for cooking under way. 

Photos courtesy of Northern Marine 


NORTHERN MARINE 64 

RAISED PILOT HOUSE LRC 

LOA 64' 7" 

LWL 63' 

BEAM 18' 6" 

DRAFT 6' 6" (full load) 

DISPLACEMENT 170,000 lb. (full load) 

BRIDGE CLEARANCE 42' 

FUEL 3,100 U.S. gal. (standard) 

WATER 500 U.S. gal. (standard) 

HOLDING TANK 85 U.S. gal. 

GRAY WATER 60 U.S. gal. 

GENERATORS Two 25kW Northern Lights 

ENGINE Single 355hp Volvo Penta 

D9 MH (standard) 

MAXIMUM SPEED 11.0 knots (at 1890 rpm) 

CRUISE SPEED 8.6 knots 

RANGE AT CRUISE SPEED 4,705nm 

DESIGNER Northern Marine 

BUILDER Northern Marine 

INTERIOR DESIGNER Ardeo Design (ardeodesign.com) 

FULLY EQUIPPED $3, 675, 000 

(Which includes electronics, 

entertainment, soft goods, and tender) 

• 

For more information: 

Northern Marine Co. LLC 

3116 V Place 

Anacortes, WA 98221 

360. 299. 8400 

northernmarine.com 

Northern Marine works with all major brands of high 

quality appliances—including Sub-Zero, Viking, and 

Miele, to name a few—to satisfy customers’ galley needs. 

Our test boat had a selection of full-size Jenn-Air stainless 

steel appliances, including a range with cooktop and 

oven, a microwave above, and a refrigerator with freezer 

drawer below. Built-in cabinetry above and below the 

countertops (all with sea rails) and pullout drawers were 

numerous, including designated storage for spices, plates, 

and glasses. To port I found still more storage, including 

pullout pantry drawers and lower cabinet drawers. 

Scott Cole of Ardeo Design on Bainbridge Island, 

Washington, conceived the interiors throughout the 64 


Top left: The forward engine room bulkhead houses the Tank Sentry, genset and main engine performance instruments, and a 

system switch panel on top. Sight gauges for the wing tanks, four individual bilge pump switches, and blue-handled fuel manifold 

controls are below. Above right: There’s plenty of room on both sides of the Volvo D9, as shown in this view from the port side 

looking aft. Above left: In the lazarette, the watermaker, filters, and hot-water heater installations typify the work found throughout. 

LRC with an eye for balancing the warm tones of the 

makore panels and cabinetry, the planked jatobá sole, 

and custom fabrics. The aft section of the saloon to port 

has a custom-made couch that contains storage below 

and is bolted to the sole to keep it from moving. The 

high-low table on a gas strut serves as a coffee table and 

can move in for cocktails. Cole selected Cantalupi 

lighting to add a touch of contemporary yet homelike 

style, complementing the Bose Lifestyle 48 surroundsound 

DVD/AM/FM/CD entertainment system, which 

includes five pod-style speakers in the saloon and a 

subwoofer hidden in a cabinet. To starboard there is 

a 37-inch flat-screen television on a lift. 

The beautifully inlaid dining table to starboard is 

bolted through the deck and secured outboard. All 

windows have shades that can be pulled down easily for 

privacy. If you were to overlook the overhead handrail 

extending through the saloon and galley, you’d swear 

you were in a cozy pied-à-terre with great water views. 

Access to the accommodations deck is three steps 

down from the galley, with a VIP stateroom to starboard 

and a double-bunk guest stateroom to port. The 

starboard cabin has a queen-size berth against the hull 

side, storage outboard, large fixed portlights with Roman 

shades, and a 23-inch LG flat-screen TV. Except for the 

double-bunk berth arrangement, the portside stateroom 

mirrors many of the features of the VIP cabin. All 

hanging lockers are cedar lined, and Baldwin door 

hardware and cabinet pulls are used throughout. Head 

compartments have book- and grain-matched marble 

floors, shower walls, and counters and are equipped with 

under-mount sinks, Jado faucets, and Headhunter toilets. 

Five stairs down from guest level forward is the midship 

master stateroom, to starboard. When you’re ready to 


Photos by Natalie Friton 

retire, you’ll find a queen-size bed with four large 

storage drawers underneath, flanked by nightstands 

with drawers, and a custom-built chest of drawers. 

Trust me when I say that there is no shortage of 

storage space anywhere on the 64 LRC. 

SOPHISTICATED SYSTEMS 

A doorway in the alcove at the base of the stairs to the 

accommodations has a watertight Freeman door with a 

reinforced porthole for quick visual checks of the engine 

room. Outside, there’s a manual pull for the Fireboy fire 

suppression system. Undogging the doors, I walked into 

the full-standing-headroom compartment to find the 

main engine, a 355hp (continuous duty at 1800 rpm) 

Volvo D9 MH diesel, with excellent access all around. 

Fuel is supplied from one of three tanks: a 1,700-gallon 

belly tank forward and two 800-gallon saddle tanks 

outboard. All fuel is polished by dual Centurion filters 

that are easy to reach and change and then flows 

through dual-element Racor filters, one for the main 


Twin Racor duplex fuel-water separators serving the 25kW Northern Lights generators are mounted above the ZF gearbox. 

engine and one each for the two 25kW Northern Lights 

gensets in enclosures set to port. The primary hydraulic 

pump is mounted on the ZF gearbox, which has a 

reduction ratio of 3.9 to 1. The Aquamet 22 HS main 

shaft, 3 inches in diameter, has a PSS dripless shaft seal 

and is equipped with a Keypower hydraulic get-home 

drive controlled through the ABT system and a manual 

lever on the starboard side. The get-home drive will 

produce speeds of up to 4.5 knots. 

Estenson showed me the fuel transfer manifold on 

the forward bulkhead, with levers for suction below 

and discharge above. Moving fuel from the bow tank 

to one of the wing tanks required only the rotation of 

both valve handles to the down position, turning on 

the circuit breaker for the 1.5hp Baldwin electric fuel 

pump (which delivers 17gpm), and switching on the 

pump. Sight gauges near the door indicate the wing 

tank levels; fuel levels can also be read on pilothouse 

electronics by means of tank sensors that send data to 

the NMEA 2000 bus. 



Engine room gauges are located above the fuel 

manifold controls, for the main engine and both gensets. 

Bilge switches are arrayed next to the forward door, 

selectable for automatic or manual operation. The 

emergency bilge system consists of a Y-valve on the 

intake side of the engine water pump plumbed to a 

strum box in the bilge sump. Engine room air is drawn 

in from port or starboard through large demisting boxes 

built into the house sides inboard of the walk-arounds. 

Twin Delta “T” 12-inch axial fans controlled through 

reversible, variable-frequency drives increase the amount 

of air supplied or vented. A big Cruisair HVAC chiller 

control system is mounted next to the fans. 

A Reverso oil changing system mounted behind the 

door on the front bulkhead is plumbed to remove oil 

under way from either genset or from the main, pulling 

30 gallons of used oil into a dirty lube storage tank and 

pumping in a fresh supply from a clean lube tank. Fuel 

tanks are 5/16-inch aluminum, made in house and 

tested to 3psi before installation. The potable water 

tank is a 500-gallon HDPE unit from Barr Plastics. 

For optimal sound attenuation, the engine room 

overhead and forward bulkhead are insulated with a 

layer of 2-lb.-per-square-foot leaded vinyl sandwiched 

between two layers of 2-lb.-per-square-foot fiberglass 

insulation. The results are worth the effort. Sound 

readings in the pilothouse ranged from 52 to 60dBA 

across the full range of throttle settings. 

Aft, another watertight Freeman door leads to the 

lazarette. Dual Comar transformers are mounted 

starboard on the forward bulkhead for the shorepower 

system, which runs through Comar 50A120/240 Auto 

Shore control boxes. There’s a Glendinning 

Cablemaster aft and a DeWalt compressor built in for 

air tools, which are kept in the built-in toolbox just 

inside the engine room. The rudderpost is made from 

the same 3-inch-diameter Aquamet 22 HS as the 

propeller shaft, fastened to a flat, 61-by-33-inch, 5/8- 

Courtesy of Northern Marine 

inch steel rudder. The bottom of the rudder pivots on 

a 1.5-by-12-inch steel shoe that runs to the engine room 

forward station and then becomes a 1-by-12-inch strip 

extending all the way forward to the bulb. 

Before leaving the lazarette, you’ll see how easy it is 

to service the Accu-Steer pump for the autopilot, the 

Aqua Whisper 500-gallon-per-day watermaker with 

filters, and the 30-gallon water heater to port. The 

Xantrex 4,000-watt inverter sits outboard. Inside the 

battery storage box you’ll find 12 8D batteries; 

switches are outside the box, and a Newmar Phase 

Three battery charger is next to the switches. 

LONG-RANGE CAPABLE 

Puget Sound did not offer much that would challenge 

the 64 LRC on our way back to Anacortes. Carrying 

850–900 gallons of fuel, we saw 11.4 knots on reciprocal 

runs in Haro Strait, then cruised east along the southern 

edge of San Juan Island. A modest 2- to 3-foot chop 

greeted us in open water. Even with the big TRAC 

stabilizers turned off, the motion was smooth and 

comfortable. The big boat tracked effortlessly and 

turned quickly when asked. 

I computed a range of 2,763 nautical miles at 1600 rpm, 

making 10.4 knots and burning 9.5gph on the main and 

1.5gph on a single genset. As I normally do, I based my 

figures on 90 percent of available fuel, so range is potentially 

another 10 percent above my numbers. Slowing the D9 to 

1400 rpm reduced consumption to 7.2gph (again including 

1.5gph for the genset) and increased range to 2,952 

nautical miles. At 1200 rpm and 8.6 knots, range jumped 

to 4,705 nautical miles. That’s the kind of range that 

many long-distance cruisers can only dream about. 

For those who do dream of bluewater passages to 

far-flung ports and anchorages, Northern Marine’s 64 

Raised Pilot House Long Range Cruiser offers a very 

real and proven mix of luxury, comfort, plentiful 

storage, and sound engineering. 

Reprinted from PassageMaker ® Magazine courtesy of the publisher, Dominion Enterprises. Copyright 2008. All rights reserved. 

www.passagemaker.com

Northern Marine's Newest Long Range Cruiser

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